NEC wants polling stations to open at 7am
Written by: James Karuhanga
Published on: January 28th, 2013
Link to article
Summary: This article discusses the parliamentarian elections scheduled for September, and the times that will be allotted for citizens to cast their ballots. The NEC (National Election Committee) is creating legislation/amendments for rules that would allow the voting time to begin at 7 AM, as opposed to the previous 6 AM. Reasons as to this change include thinking of the citizens and their sleep, the fact that election personnel must be present an hour before voting beings, and the voting stations are government buildings without power.
Thoughts: To me it seems like the government does not want to wake up in the morning. I understand it possibly being too dark, but they are also taking an hour away from voters that are possibly unavailable at all other times of the day. I think that if officials are going to remove an hour of voting in the morning, then they should at least raise the ending time from 3 PM to 4 PM.
Article's Relation to Politics: This article ties into the everyday life of people in Rwanda because it is trying to establish a finalized time for their parliamentarian elections to be held. These elections are quite distant, but citizens need to know what it being done to their voting time. It is possible that the removal of the morning hour of voting will disable working adults from voting for their representatives.
Thoughts: To me it seems like the government does not want to wake up in the morning. I understand it possibly being too dark, but they are also taking an hour away from voters that are possibly unavailable at all other times of the day. I think that if officials are going to remove an hour of voting in the morning, then they should at least raise the ending time from 3 PM to 4 PM.
Article's Relation to Politics: This article ties into the everyday life of people in Rwanda because it is trying to establish a finalized time for their parliamentarian elections to be held. These elections are quite distant, but citizens need to know what it being done to their voting time. It is possible that the removal of the morning hour of voting will disable working adults from voting for their representatives.